I had to rotate my whole strut 180 in order to lift, will this cause issues?

Hi there,

I recently installed a lift kit (spacers) on my truck and because of the way the spacers are made I had to rotate the entire strut 180 degrees (as mentionned in the instructions). I know this affects the caster, but will it cause any issues (long term)? I don't think the angle is the same anymore since I rotated them.

I was going to rotate the top plate to keep the factory specs but the instructions told me to rotate the whole strut...Just wondering...




I'm going to get an alignment soon and I hope they'll be able to reach factory specs.

Thank you.

 

How would rotating a shock change anything like caster? You have me confused.

The shock is strait.....Turn it however you want and it should make no difference.

Adding a lift on the other hand will screw up your alignment and require a new one be performed.

 

This^^
Also, if your shock bolts into the LCA properly, the 180* matters not.

 

The shock is not straight.

When I removed it, I noticed that the top plate of the strut was angled. I doubled checked and yes there was an angle.

That said, when I rotated the strut, I reversed that angle.

 

OK....I haven't had stock suspension for years so I need to think this out...


The top plate on the truck is flat - this is a fact

All top plate spacers are flat - this is a fact

All aftermarket shocks like King/Fox/Icon have flat top plates

Every single picture I can find shows the OE shocks being flat....




OK, I give up. I'm clueless. Looks perfectly flat to me and I can't find anything nor remember anything being uneven. I even remember bolting my Kings up wrong by accident so the bottom eye was facing the wrong way...LOL.

Hopefully someone smarter than I can clue us all in.

 

If the top plate is at an angle, then the spring, plate, or other item(s) were installed together incorrectly. There should be no angle at all.

 

Did you install it on the spring equinox? that will throw it off and you will have to re-align it during the fall equinox and vice versa. Also if you are wearing white after labor day you have to reduce the torque on the bolts by 6.5ft lbs









joking aside. The Shock body itself is straight, if its not then its fubar. The bottom plate will have a "step" in it and the spring will match up to it. The top of the spring will be flat across to match the top plate spacer.

 

lol... I swore I seen an angle. I looked at it for a few minutes before flipping it the other side. And yes the bottom plate had a ''step'' in it and I thought I'd seen one at the top as well. Usually they move the top plate 180 degrees when installing spacers, not the whole strut. When you rotate it, you affect caster and camber, from what I remember. I just hope they'll be able to put OEM specs back.

May-be I'm wrong... We'll see after alignment I guess!

 

If you seen an angle somethings wrong. If your shocks don't look flat like the ones in the pictures I posted somethings wrong. Take a pic and post it.



What size blocks & spacers did you get?

 

The top plate is at an angle, at least it is on my 2001. The spacer needs to be rotated due to the shape of the spacer is what i was told. What made the most sense to me was that it keeps your strut leaning in and back at the factory angles being that you are changing the factory geometry when installing a spacer like this.